In the demo is the retail version of the Valley map, which has undergone numerous balance tweaks from the various beta tests. So you'll be enjoying the final iterations of XP, weapon balancing, player movement and vehicle handling.

You'll also get a chance to use the bots as single-player fodder, or as filler in your multiplayer matches - which you'll be able to host using the standalone server and server launcher tool.

Valley is one of the biggest maps in the game, and will give you a good chance to test out all the various types of combat: vehicle battles, air fights, artillery bombardments, or just plain face-to-face pulverisation.

The main aim of the scenario is to flush the Strogg out of a contamination plant messing up the local water supply, but there will be side missions to explore if you want to wander off the beaten track.

If that makes you very excited, then you might like to pop into the Quake Wars IRC channel and chat to the developer and publisher at a demo-launch get together. The network is irc.quakenet.org and the channel is #quakewars. Words will be flying from around 6:15pm BST.

Bertie is a senior staff writer, which doesn't mean he's old, although he is, a bit. He's part of the furniture here and reports on all kinds of things, the stranger the better. He's a bit odd but then who isn't? @Clert on Twitter.